Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

May 31, 2023

Generationals: “Strangers”

By: Jack Anderson

As streaming numbers become one of the defining metrics for success, you see a lot of young up-and-comers try to cover their bases by cranking out singles. Longer-standing, well-established acts, however, know that the “quality over quantity” builds stronger staying power.

Just look at NOLA-born indie-garage-pop duo Generationals, who first got started in 2008. With a decade and a half of experience and plenty of fans across the globe, they’re getting pretty close to reaching their namesake in terms of lifespan and impact. The pair’s fared well with a production technique of remotely collaborating – shaping songs one file share at a time – so in 2021 when Generationals went to track a new EP in Athens, Georgia straight to tape, it was already a trepidatious process. They listened back, weren’t thrilled with the results, and wisely went back to the drawing board.

The result is Generationals’ sixth full-length, Heatherhead, out this Friday. The LP’s a real case study in looking inward, defining what makes a certain brand of music great, and taking care to make sure the end product is far beyond listener expectations. In a final effort to familiarize us with Heatherhead before it drops, Generationals graciously introduces us to “Strangers”. From its initial ear-perking staccato guitar and hazy vibrato synth, straight to its driving daytime disco bass line and breezy, effects-tanned falsetto vocals, “Strangers” tosses chillwave into a caipirinha that’ll serve up the spirit of flirty summer fun all year-round – even when they stop by The Mohawk on September 8th.


Episodes

May 2, 2024

Mikky & The Doom: “Garbage, USA”

In most situations, if you got it, flaunt it. But in an industry that demands infinitely more from your ears than from your eyes, if the hottest person on the planet doesn’t have the pipes to match their looks, they probably don’t have a shot at succeeding as a singer. So let’s talk newcomer Mikky […]

Listen

May 2, 2024

Henry the Archer: “ViolinT”

If this late Spring’s got your spirits shook up and you’re looking for some renewed motivation to tend to your garden (be it literal or figurative), we’ve got a DFW act that’ll make you go hard in the yard. And that’s on behalf of singer-guitarist-keyboardist R. Hennessy, AKA “Henry O”, who’s been hitting the mark […]

Listen

May 1, 2024

Emily Shirley: “Morning Light”

It’s the classic end to an encounter. You meet someone new. Sparks seemingly fly. You have fun for a night. But when you wake up ready to tell your new boo you’d like to see ’em again…they’re long gone. Hell, and in the modern era, that might all happen on just on an app alone. […]

Listen

April 30, 2024

Grandmaster: “Castle Door”

Watch out, Golden Dawn Arkestra…there’s a new costumed collective in town, and they’re hunting for for fresh converts! But instead of frenetic Afro-inspired dance grooves, these fanatics have so far stuck to the slower side of ’70s-style jazz funk rock; think War whisked together with Steely Dan. Not that you’d be able to tell from […]

Listen

April 29, 2024

Trip Cigs: “Comeback Kid”

When a seasoned musician wades out of their genre comfort zone, you love to hear it. Because the technical expertise, jam stamina, and songwriting skills are already in place, but opening the gate to different inspirations and influences is always a welcome breath of fresh air. So let’s talk Rod Gator, who – as you […]

Listen

April 24, 2024

Viben: “Pablo Picasso”

Lyrics are a fickle field. You can be wordy as hell, hoping that at least one line sticks in listener’s minds. Or, you could just loop the hell out of some barebones sentences – guaranteed to have a lot more hypnotic staying power through sheer repetition, especially in the realm of dance music. Now let’s […]

Listen

April 24, 2024

Rett Smith: “Sunsets”

In terms of musical association, at least outside the world of film soundtracks, U.S. southwestern scenery often gets associated with country. But there’s a certain psychedelic quality to our regional deserts that we just love to see artists embrace. Folks like Rett Smith, based here in Austin, but bred out of West Texas, so you […]

Listen

April 23, 2024

Ruel Thomas: “I Am Today”

Any profession requires quotas…whether that’s how many tickets you write or how many kids pass your class. And when music is your source of income, the obvious metric to measure by is quantity of shows played. But as with any creative endeavor, there’s an opportunity to move the needle in many directions, which makes “success” […]

Listen